Suture-package



C. T. DAVIS.

SUTURE PACKAGE. APPLICATION FILED Nov.2s. 1917.

Patented Mar. 15, 1921-.

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PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES T. DAVIS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SUTUBE-PACKAGE.

Spccl flcatlon of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

Application filed November 28, 1917. Serial No. 204,332.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T. Davis, a citizen of the United States,res1d1n at Brooklyn in the county of Kings and tate of New ork, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Suture-Packages, of wh ch thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to the a 1t of packaging sutures or the like,pertalmng more particularly to the production of a suture package .orunit in which the suture is maintained at maximum .efiiciency within thepackage, and the package is of such form as to provide. for readypreparatlon for use While reducing liability of suture contamination toa minimum.

Suture packages, as now generally produced for commercial purposes, arein the formof a glass tube',sealed at its opposite ends, and generallyhaving a weakened l ne to prov1de for breakage. The tube contains apreserving fluid into which the suture extends, the

latter generally being more or less coiled, a simple arrangement hav ngthe suture wound and the coil flattened-generally producing a twist-topermit ready insertion into the tube. In practice, the tube is generallytwice the length of the inserted coil,

this length being employed to permit the vaporization or other treatmentto be. had after the tube has been scaled and before 1t is broken toexpose the suture.

. Packages of this type have several objectionable features heretoforeconsidered unavoidable. For instance, the tubes are generally of uniformdiameter with the weakened line intermediate the ends of the tube.

' This permits the containedsuture shifting itspositionlengthwise, thesuture oftentimes extending across such hne. If the tube be broken onsuch line while the suture is in such position, suture contamination isThis can be partially obviated by violently shaking the tube beforebreaking to shift the suture toward its proper end, but this is more orless dlfficult dueQto the liquid contents and the tendency of the sutureto stick to the tube surface. Hence, this precaution is oftentimesomitted, especiallyon occasions where haste. is essential, or throughinexperience on the part of the nurse.

Another feature is the practical requirement that the package productionbe by hand, due somewhat to the contamer forto suspicion for thisreason.

mation. Where a label is introduced, it

passes into the tube with the suture or is.

.that the suture be not thrown out of the tube or contaminated bycontact with foreign substances. The tube must be capable of readybreaking with minimum liability of splintering, so that thin stock isused. making the container fragile in character, materially increasingliability of breakage during transit or when undergoing heat treatmentprevious to placing the suture in service.

The prior practice of producing packages practically requires hand ormanual treatment, providing for high cost of manufac ture due to lowcapacity of production.

The present invention is designed to overcome these and otherobjectionable features by employing a container which will permit thevarious sterilization and preservation treatments to be had withoutliability of contamination; which will prevent shifting of the sutureover the breaking line; which will permit ready introduction of sutureand label, ifused; which will permit of the use of heavier stock andshorter length; and which will permit many of the packagingmanipulations to be provided mechanically, tending to decrease cost ofmanufacture.

To these and other ends,the nature of which will be readily understoodas the invention is hereinafter disclosed, said invention consists inthe improved construction and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings andmore'particularly pointed out Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view ofa tube.

course, objectionab e Fig. 3 is an elevationof the completed package.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same;

' Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the package broken to expose thesuture.

As shown in Fig. 1, the tube of the commercial type of suture package isof equal diameter throughout its length, permitting the tube to besealed at one-end prior to insertion of the contents, the suture, labeland preserving solution being inserted throu h the open end. The tube 10is generally 0 a length ap roximately twice the length of the suture C01and is generally provided with a weakened line 11 to tend to orcebreakage at a predetermined point. Inasmuch as the strength of such tubeagainst breakage is that provided by the section at the weakened line,the tube section is made thin in order to reduce the variation inthickness as far as possible and yet provide for the forced location ofthe break under pressure. As a result, the packa e requirescarefulhandling in transit and uring subsequent treatment. The uniformdiameter of the tube of Fig.

1 permits ready insertion of the suture 12 and label 13, but practicallyrequires that these be inserted together in order that the label will bemore or .less supported in position by the suture. Where the label isinserted after the suture, shifting movements of the latter'm'ay tend todouble or otherwise affect the ap earance of the label. By locatingthe'labei on the suture coil in advance, the relative movements tendingto double or crease the label are more or less eliminated reducinliability of sus icion against the (iuality of the package. his does nottotal y avoid this possibility, since the twist action of the coil maaffect the label appearance. However, t c more serious factor in thisrespect is the necessityl for introducing the suture and label by and,not only makin contamination possible during handling, ut increasing thecost by reason of low capacity and labor cost.

An additional factor isthe difliculty of treating the suture, especiallywhere the] treatment is of the sta e type. Any manipulation which woulftend to force the suture out of the ope'ii end of the tube, is of sothat the cost factor is increased by the necessity of careful handlingduring this operation.

The more serious factor of shifting of the suture over the breakingline, heretofore referred to, is of prime importance. Contamination ispracticallyinevitable if the coil be permitted to remain in thisposition when the break is had. v

The present invention meets these objectionable features by changing theconfiguration of. the container in such manner that the two parts of thecontainer on opposite sides of the weakened line are practicallyindividual compartments, although in 'open communication to permit vaporexpansion, etc. during the heat treatment laced on the packagepreliminary, to brea g on the weakened l-ine, thus avoiding liability ofshattering-the container during such treat-' ment.

a The compartment formation is provided by producing a neck-likeconfiguration ad- 'acent to or within which the weakened line islocated, a configuration which, when the tube is broken on such line,will give the open end of one or both sections he appearance of a mouthor neck differing in configuration or in size or area from that of' thenormal cross-section of the tube without, however, so closing themouthor neck as to prevent ready removal of the contents of the section orcompartment.

This result can be obtained in different ways, the embodiment shown inthe drawings producing the result. by forming an annular depression 14withln which the weakened line is located, the depression being ofsuitable length so as to provide a contracted neck portion to eachsection. Obviously, other configurations may be employed. Thisneck-forming configuration is preferably provided in advance of thepackaging operation, the container, in form to begin suc operation beingillustrated in Fig. 2, one end of the tube being sealed, the

other open. The depression 14 is preferably coil to be passedtherethrough. This arrangement permits thecoil to be readily inserted bythe use of a suitable instrument. i

tweezers, for instancethus r bilit of contamination.

T e suture coil is thus located in one of the container compartments, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the suture is firmly retained in itscompartment against madvertent displacement, even when the conducingliatainer is roughly handled, by cooperation of the neck and the form ofthe elongated coil, which has a considerable expansive tendency due tothe nature of the suture and the manner in which it is coiled, and isusually placed under appreciable compression within its compartment.Hence, suture treatment can be had within the open tube, and, ifdesired, the container may be placed in a suitable centrifugal apparatusto free the suture and container from solution, without affecting theposition of the suture. The preservin solution can be readily placed inpositlon through a simple filling operation.

If a label is to be inserted it is placed in the opposite compartment,the neck retaining it in the compartment. Owing to the fact that theinsertion of the label is not complicated by the presence of the suture,or by the ossibilit of suture movements into the la el-containingcompartment, no material care is required and label insertion can be hadby machine.

After label insertion, the open end of the tube is sealed, thuscompleting the package. Since no shifting of suture or label across theweakened line can take place in the completed package, the length of thelabel-receiving compartment may be decreased, thus shortening the lengthof the tube and package, permitting decrease in size of the transportingcarrier.- The length. of the con-' tainer is thus made independent ofthe necessity for providing a space on either side of the weakened linecapable of receiving the suture, the length being sufficient to permitvaporization action without producing undue pressure on the tube, whereheat treatment is had prior to breaking the container.

Since the contracted neck tends to aid in restricting the point, offracture when breaking the container on the weakened line, the tube maybe of heavier stock, thus decreasing liability of breaking the containerduring transit or undergoing heat treatment.

The appearance of the package is not affected by manipulation of thepackage, since the label and suture do not come into contact.

The important factor of non-contamination at time of breaking of thepackage is had by reason of the fact that the suture is originallyplaced at one side of the weakened line and is retained in such portionof the container.

One end of the suture coil lies in proximity to the neck so that whenthe tube is broken, the surgeon or nurse can easily withdraw the sutureby the use of tweezers or other instruments.

Heat treatment of the package can be had readily produced in a tube ofuniform crosssection, sealing of the tube ends being had in anywell-known way.

From the above it will be understood that the packaging operation can beprovided with rapidity and efficienc and at the same time with minimumliability of contamination of the suture, thus enabling material savingin the cost of production; the pack-.

age is of a type permitting transportation and heat treatment with lesslikelihood of damage; and is of such character as to permit properrupturing into sections without liability of contamination, certaintybeing had that the suture will be retained in the compartment of itssection, after rupture is had, while permitting ready removal from suchsection when needed.

While I have herein shown and described one wayin which the inventionmay be carried into effect, it will be readily understood that changesor modifications therein may be found desirable or necessary to meet theexigencies of use, and I desire to be understood as reserving the rightto make any and all such changes as may be found necessary or desirable,in so far as the same may fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention as expressed in'the accompanying claims.

While I have shown the label as located in a different com artment fromthat in which the suture coil is located, an arrangement which ispreferable as above indicated, it is to be understood, however, that theinvention is not limited in this respect, since the label may be placedin the same compartment with the suture coil, since the two elements mayhave the relationship shown in Fig. 1 while within the suture-receivingcom artment.

aving thus described my invention what I claim'as new, is:

1. A suture package comprising a tube sealed at the ends and having'aconstricted portion intermediate the ends forming two connected tube comartments, and a suture in the form of an e ongated coil retained in oneof the compartments by cooperation of the constricted portion and formof the coil.

2. A suture package comprising a tube sealed at the ends and having aconstricted portion intermediate the ends forming two connectedtube'compartments, and a suture in the form of an elongated coilretained in one of the compartments by coiiperation of the constrictedortion and form of the coil, the suture coil aving an end projecting inthe vicinit of the constricted tube portion so that it is readilyaccessible for grasping and withdrawal of the suture when the tube is,broken at the constricted portion.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES T. DAVIS.

